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Christmas Recipe: Kerala Chicken Stew

Christmas came and went, and it was so much fun. My best friend came over with her friend, and I decided to make a South Indian dinner. That meant rice and lots of coconut! If you don’t know by now, then I should tell you: food from Kerala will almost always involve coconut. There’s either coconut oil, grated coconut, coconut milk or bits of roasted coconut. Kerala chicken stew uses coconut milk as a base, and I love it because it is uncomplicated and sits well on any palate.

Ideally, I would have liked to serve this with appams or hoppers, but for all my love of Kerala and it’s cuisine, I do not know how to make the batter for appams. I mean, I know how it’s done, but I just haven’t gotten around to doing it. (Note to self- must do so in 2012.) This chicken stew is rather like the fish moilee I made a while ago, the only difference being this does not use tomatoes. You can if you want to, I chose not to.

KERALA CHICKEN STEW

INGREDIENTS

300 grams chicken, cubed

1 1/2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste (I used Dabur, you can use anything you like or even better, zhuzh it up in the blender!)

3 tablespoons coconut oil (1 tablespoon for marination; 2 for frying)

2 cloves garlic, sliced lengthwise

2 teaspoons ginger, chopped or cut into matchsticks (I’ll be honest, I did not really measure…it seemed like 2 teaspoons!)

1 medium sized onion; chopped into quarters

1 medium sized potato; chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

2 medium-sized sticks of cinnamon

3 cloves

3 pods of cardamom

A few whole black peppercorns

1 carton (180 ml) coconut milk

Salt to taste

1 green chilli, slit

METHOD

First, combine the chicken, ginger-garlic paste and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a medium sized bowl and mix well so that the chicken is coated evenly. Allow the chicken to marinate for at least half an hour.

Next, get your spices on. Bring out a large wok, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and then add all your whole spice(cinnamon+cloves+cardamom+peppercorns,) and swish around till the flavours are released and you have a nice smell in your kitchen.

Next, add the ginger, garlic and onions and sautee till they become soft.

Now, add your chicken which has been marinating, and sautee some more. Add some salt to taste, and a slit green chilli.

Now, add the chopped potatoes and carrots and add some water (about a quarter of a cup cup should do,) and allow to simmer.

Once your chicken has been simmering for a few minutes, add the coconut milk, stir around, and allow to cook on a low flame till the chicken is tender.

Most other recipes call for fennel and curry leaves, but I didn’t use either because (a) I did not have any fennel and (b) I was also making Thrissur Chicken, which anyway has a lot of curry leaves and I didn’t want everything to taste the same.

The trick is to use all your whole spices in proportion- cinnamon and cloves are pretty strong and can really overpower a dish. Small amounts, gentle flavours. This tastes great with rice, appams or plain bread.

Back in the UK a kerala chicken dish was one of my favourites at our local restaurants. I am struggling to find really great food like this in NYC but you’ve inspired me to continue my search, Or – start creating the dish myself!!

About Me

Butcher, baker and curry-maker. A happy home chef who divides her time between bustling Bombay and laidback Kerala. I like food, fashion magazines and pretty bags. I also like cracking creme brulee with a spoon :)

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